Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-03-05
SARAH AS A KICKER.
A Bernhardt Episode During a Cele.
bratiOn I'm Panama.

A Bernhardt Episode During a Cele-
bratiOn I'm Panama.
New Orleans special: maurice Grau
told q pretty good yarn about Sarah's
success in South America, but he forgot
to mention one little incident t1at hap
pened in Panama and created q good
deal of stir down there"
Ihls was the remark of Mr.. O. w,
johnson, New Orleans boy who bad
been in the Isthmus for the last four
teen months, and Las just returned for
the benefit of his constitution, which
has been considerably shaken up with
the chagres fever. He is clerk at the
Grand Central, the principal hotel oil
Panama, where Sarah Bernhardt put up,
and he was there when Sarah played her
engagement
The fourth performance fell upon 8
Jubilee day, o celebration of the indie
pendenoe of one of the south American
states. AS times are about as flush in
Panama now as they were in New Or
leans in 1850, fireworks are lavishiy
barned and bombs exploded in huge
quantities upon all such occasions. "Le
Laitre des Foves'' was Sarah's play that
night, She was just coming on for he,
first scene IN the last act when the fun
on the outside began. There was q ire
mendous explosion of a big bomb right
in front of the doorway of the old Con
vent Theater, followed by a rafting dis.
charge of smaller ones. The effect was
startling. The great tragedienne gave 6
convulsive leap and fell upon the stage
"She has tainted! she has faintedp
was the cry all over the house. In OF
instant the. noise of the fireworks was
drowned out by the cries OF excited
sympathy. But suddenly the voice of q
great big American in one of the gallery
palaces rose above all other sounds
"Faintedl h-h she'skicking like a Texas
steerm And SO she was, beating a tattoo
on the stage floor with her boot heels
her %petticoats flying in the air, and
everybody on the stage afraid to go in
her neighborhood.
The people caught on to the Texans
cue, and the pathetic instantly became
ludicrous. a big laugh from all over
the mouse preceded q terrific storm O.
guying. Bot it never phased the
Bernhardt. She maintained her kicking
faint under q shower of obaH not to be
equalled in picturesque variety this
5luo Vi huo lH6 CURTAIN WAL
rung down, and the audience troopeG
out after being informed that the lady,
condition rendered it impossible to &c
on with the play. There was no kicking
on the part of the Panama audience
They no doubt thought that Sarah
spell q better show than they had bar
gained for.
Mr.. Johnston continued: "Beine
clerk at the hotel where the great actress
was stopping, / called a carriage for her
She war carried out by three men still
in a faint but still kicking. 1t was two
to n that the carriage would NOT hold
her, but they dumped her in By the
time she got back to the hotel she hae
recovered sufficiently to dispel the
delusion that she speaks no English.
never heard purer English ouss word
then those she lavished upon the un
fortunate Panamese and their fireworks
She didn't oonfine herself to English
but still she showed her familiarity will
q very expressive part of the language
She raised shoel, but she didn't call i
that, with everybody and everything il
the house. and had Maurice Grau stand.
ing on his head. She didn't let a sou
in the house sleep till four O'clock mex
morning. The receipts in Panama TO
the four nights we're $18,4S4." said Mi
Johnston. II sawsthe money counted
over myself"